Latest news with #EastofOakArtFest
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
KC-area artist loses 30K of her artwork to thieves. She's fighting to get it back
Beth Houts has been an artist since she was a kid. She started with photography at just 12 years old, first with personal portraits and then by developing a love for wildlife photography. Because of the popularity of wildlife photography, Houts began to refurbish old windows and doors, among other items, to build custom frames for her pieces. Since 2015, the Kansas City area artist has traveled the nation, making her living as a full-time artist. In fact, Houts was a featured artist at the East of Oak Art Fest on May 3rd. But a week before the festival, Houts was contacted by a person who had seen her custom trailer, filled with her art, items for her booth setup, and personal items, in someone else's driveway. Houts's trailer and her utility terrain vehicle, or UTV, were allegedly taken from her property in Cleveland, Missouri, while she wasn't there. The artist contacted the Cass County Sheriff's Office, where a preliminary incident report confirms an ongoing investigation for a stolen trailer and side-by-side on April 27. Her trailer was found by Grandview police two days later, but it was empty. Kansas City police officers responded to a call for a stolen vehicle on April 30 on the 7600 block of East 75th Terrace, according to spokesperson Sgt. Phil DiMartino. Officers recovered the vehicle as part of the ongoing investigation, DiMartino said. Houts said the recovered vehicle was her UTV. $10,000 worth of equipment and $30,000 worth of art were allegedly taken from the trailer, according to Houts's GoFundMe fundraiser. Authorities have told her that five to 10 men could have been involved in the alleged theft, Houts said. 'Since I haven't been told my stuff hasn't been dumped or destroyed, I'm still trying to locate it, because it's my life's work,' Houts said. She's been working with three different law enforcement agencies to recover her items. 'It's my heart. It's been devastating to me.' While working with law enforcement, Houts has tracked down some of her items on Facebook. Authorities told Houts a man was arrested with her trailer in Grandview, but was released, she said. The man contacted Houts and denied that he took her trailer, she said, but said he has one of her laptops and a debit card. He has since stopped communicating with her. Another man, who knows the alleged suspect, told Houts he has a piece of her artwork and is cooperating with law enforcement, she said. 'Both were saying, 'Yes, I have this of yours, and I want to give it back to you,'' Houts said. '...'I want to get [the items] back to you, but I don't want to get arrested or whatever.' So then they said they wanted to get it back to me, but they haven't.' Houts said she's also been contacting friends of the alleged suspects on social media, who told her to be careful as she attempts to track down her life's work. 'I've had several say, 'Don't mention, don't say my name. We're all scared of them.' So I'm not dealing with safe people,' Houts said. 'Trying to keep myself safe and my son safe and everyone involved safe at the same time.' One of the alleged suspects told her some of her belongings were in a storage unit in Raytown. Houts said she is working with Cass County Sheriff deputies, the lead agency on the case, to acquire a search warrant for the unit. The entire process has been draining for Houts, she said. Pieces she's spent years working on, all gone, without compensation or appreciation. Her work is well-regarded, displayed in businesses like the Loews Hotel and The Gatsby on Oak, so the loss has hit hard, not only financially, but also emotionally. 'So very time-consuming, very draining, on top of the fact that my life's work was taken from me,' she said. 'That's just heartbreaking to me. Every time I think that, I get sick and I cry and I keep going because I still have hope that I can retrieve it.' Houts still went to the East of Oak Art Fest with some printed photographs and a table. That's where her friends and supporters began fundraising for her and helped her create a GoFundMe, which has currently raised almost $1,000 of its $10,000 goal. As she continues working with law enforcement, Houts holds on to her community and her family, who have been encouraging her throughout her journey. 'Despite all the ugliness, there are good people who are willing to reach out and help when you're struggling,' Houts said. 'Just hearing the words of admiration of my work lifts my spirits enough to get up and keep going and keep searching.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
$40,000 of original work missing from Missouri artist after trailer stolen
GRANDVIEW, Mo. — Multiple law enforcement agencies are investigating after a local artist said her UTV, trailer and thousands of dollars' worth of original artwork were all stolen off her property in Cleveland, Missouri. Grandview police recovered the trailer outside the O'Reilly Auto Parts store. 700 residents impacted by Aspen Place Condemnation in Gardner, Kansas Owner Beth Houts said the more than $40,000 worth of original artwork and equipment that was inside is nowhere to be found. 'I immediately started crying because it was all my life's work,' Houts said. 'I put in blood, sweat and tears in my work, making the handmade pieces. So, it was devastating.' Houts is a wildlife photographer. She travels the country capturing and creating original pieces, some of which you may have spotted in places like the Lowes Kansas City Hotel. She said more than $40,000 worth of artwork and equipment was inside her trailer, which was sitting on her land in Cleveland, Missouri. She said in April, thieves stole her UTV, trailer and the original artwork inside. Houts said she found out when a stranger sent her a message on Facebook, asking if she was missing a trailer. Houts told police someone saw the trailer in Grandview, near E. 151st Street and Barat Avenue, just east of 71 Highway. 'They had painted over my logo on the trailer,' Houts said. 'Because it had my website, my phone number, all of my information on it.' Grandview police said they confirmed the Cass County Sheriff's Office was investigating a trailer theft. About an hour later, police said a Grandview officer found the trailer outside the O'Reilly Auto Parts store. Police said they contacted three people, and arrested one suspect, who's been transferred to another jurisdiction for warrants. Days later, someone sent Houts the location of her stolen UTV. Kansas City police said they recovered the vehicle near E. 75th Terrace and Manchester Avenue. 'He had proof that he had purchased it on Facebook Marketplace,' Houts said. Independence school bus driver from Oak Grove charged with child sex crimes: police The trailer and UTV are back with Houts, but no sign of her artwork or $10,000 worth of equipment. Houts wasn't able to display all her work at the East of Oak Art Fest last weekend, cutting into her income. Houts said she typically makes thousands of dollars at these art shows. Trey Sabates is the owner of Brookside Wine and Spirits. Their team set Houts up with a table at the event and GoFundMe page to support. 'It's horrible that it was taken from her in the way that it was,' Sabates said. 'So, we just wanted to do anything that we could and rally around her as a community.' Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android 'I'm grateful there are still good people in this world and in this community who reach out their hand when people are hurting,' Houts said. If you have any information, call the Cass Co. Sheriff's Office at (816) 380-5200 or you can go here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
